


Reputations

by Aithilin



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Hints at canon, New Recruit - Freeform, Pre-Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV, Slice of Life, short fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 23:15:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28875552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aithilin/pseuds/Aithilin
Summary: When Cor is left to watch the new Glaive recruits, Nyx is given the mission to rescue him.
Relationships: Cor Leonis & Nyx Ulric, Titus Drautos | Glauca & Nyx Ulric
Comments: 8
Kudos: 31





	Reputations

**Author's Note:**

> Prompted over at my Tumblr

There was a charm to seeing Cor Leonis— The Marshal of the Lucian military, the Immortal— on babysitting duty. The dry, exhausted humour of the man stretched thin as he answered questions, confirmed reassurances, and generally allowed himself to suffer the hours of interacting with others when he would prefer to be anywhere else in Eos. Beneath the glare of the sun through the domed training yards, the man looked ready to bolt from his more peaceful duties at the first opportunity. 

“Are you going to go rescue him?”

Nyx smirked, glancing up at Drautos as the Captain settled next to him in the shade of the pillars that circled most of the central yard. “Isn’t that your job, Sir?”

The fresh-faced Kingsglaive recruits had been in awe of the Marshal when he stepped through the first conference room. He had only stepped in briefly to deliver an update on a case that Drautos himself had been assigned to, and the sudden curiosity of the young, idealistic, and starstruck recruits had trapped him in the role Drautos had been far too willing to escape. 

“My job,” The Captain crossed his arms, openly assessing each new Glaive as they hung off every word from Cor in the stalled orientation tour; “is to put the fear of the Empire in them. And to give you orders, Ulric.”

“Is the rescue an order, Captain?”

There was a brief pause as Cor pinched the bridge of his nose after some new question clearly derailed whatever information about training expectations he had been trying to get across. Even from the distance between the open courtyard with its ruined pillars and blade-marked walls and the shade of the covered halls, Nyx could hear the conversation turn to matters that Cor never entertained. It was only a matter of time before he snapped and the new recruits saw the Captain as the lesser of the two evils in the training regimens. 

He didn’t even have to look at Drautos to know that the Captain was smirking at the whole display. “It is now. Before he kills them.”

The Captain stepped forward first, heavy steps down to the open yard barely enough to earn him a glance from the small gathering. Nyx followed in his shadow, knowing full well that the lessons on who to pay attention to would be learnt within the next few, brutal weeks. 

“Marshal,” Nyx greeted, snapping a salute; “if I could have a few moments of your time.”

The grim set of the Marshal’s jaw masked the relief in his eyes, and Nyx resisted the urge to grin at the disappointment coursing through the recruits like a wave about to crash against the harsh reality of the Captain. As he led Cor into the quiet of the empty break lounge, they could only just make out the steel of Drautos’ voice reminding the recruits of their new roles in the kingdom most had only just arrived in. It would be rare for the Captain to yell, but Nyx knew that the quiet orders would soon echo through the training halls without him ever having to adjust his voice. The recruits would learn fast. 

“Thank you, Ulric.”

“Well, you just looked so ready to kill them.”

The Marshal’s smile was not some rare phenomenon that no one ever saw. Nyx had seen it plenty of times. When the Marshal’s wit cut like his sword in banter with the King, when Noctis was around, when the Prince’s friends were granted the peace to just be kids for a while longer under his care, when there was some measure of peace that the man could focus on. But reputation and persona had limited just how often that smile was on display outside of the Citadel. Nyx knew that these smiles weren’t meant for him. Even know, the wry humour the Marshal preferred would fade within moments as they left the lounge and moved to the busier halls. 

“I was.”

“Want me to set them straight? Don’t mention the I-word, don’t ask stupid questions, don’t—”

Reputations would mean little by the time the recruits completed training. When the weapons were selected, the magic gifted, there would be that first sense of indescribable power. That reckless strength that Nyx knew could get plenty of those curious and fresh faces killed if they weren’t taught to ignore the reputations and the fanfare that was easy to let seep through those first few months. 

“Has it ever stuck with you, Ulric?”

“No. But I can be convincing to the new guys.”

“I’ll ask the Captain to have you train them.”


End file.
